Taishō Roman Konoha
by Lilia Lockheart
Summary: He was a returning naval officer and she a young schoolgirl. They were set in an era where changes were coming – whether they welcomed them or not. Taishō Roman AU.
1. Chapter 00

A/N: By no means do I claim myself to be a genius in history. I don't have extensive knowledge of the subject at all. I'm not sure how accurate the details in the story are, but I really wanted to play with the idea of the characters being in the Taishō era (I was inspired by a piece of fanart I saw on Tumblr). Hopefully the story will go to more exciting places once I'm done creating the pace for it.

But for now, please have patience with me.

 _L.L._

* * *

Taishō Roman Konoha

Prologue.

* * *

Hatake Kakashi was one of two things; late and on time. It was almost always the former. It wasn't that he didn't care enough to wake up on time or leave a little earlier than he should to be prompt. It was more because life got in the way and little things hindered his journey to wherever he was trying to get to. It was always an elderly woman needing a hand in crossing the street, a kitten lost and shivering from the cold, or even a carriage running rampant straight towards—

"You can't honestly expect anyone to believe that, do you?"

Kakashi blinked, his charcoal eyes scanning over whomever that voice belonged to. His gaze landed on the brown-haired man leaning against the side of the building. His posture was relaxed as he twirled the senbon around in his mouth.

"Yo," Kakashi greeted with a short wave. The brown-haired man rolled his eyes before pushing himself away from the wall, dusting off his white uniform.

 _White really wasn't Genma's color_ , Kakashi judged.

"You're late, kid." Genma came up to rub Kakashi's head. His hand didn't get far before Kakashi swatted it away, taking a step back from the affectionate man.

"I'm 19."

"I'm still older than you."

"By _two_ years, Genma." Kakashi suppressed the urge to run his hand through his silver hair. "That's hardly an age gap." Genma feigned indignation at his comment. Great. This was _exactly_ how Kakashi wanted his morning to start. Running into one of the most tiresome people he'd ever met. Genma just took so much out of him. He should've pretended not to notice him.

"Anyway," Genma started after sensing the lull in conversation. "You were thinking of an excuse again, weren't you?"

"Not at all," Kakashi replied. Was he really that transparent?

Genma shook his head, the senbon bouncing with the movement. "You better hurry in there before the Captain gets even angrier. Really, that temper is something." Kakashi nodded. Although he knew the last bit was more for Genma himself. The older man had gotten himself in trouble with their Captain a few times before. He left her office sporting a new bruise every time.

Thank Kami Kakashi had good reflexes. He was able to dodge whatever the woman threw at him. Except for that one time he commented on her age and received a golden paperweight to the side of his head. _That_ took him an entire month to heal. Despite knowing that their Captain had a terrible temper and an ire for tardiness, Kakashi still couldn't bring himself to arrive on time for meetings.

Oh well. He lived a good life.

Kakashi followed Genma inside the main building. They passed by fellow sailors. While he gave a simple smile of acknowledgment, his brown-haired companion chose a more boisterous greeting for each person that they passed.

"You're late." The voice called out as soon as the knock came at the door.

"Apologies, Captain. You see, while I was on my way here, a toddler who lost his mother asked—"

"Save it, Hatake. I don't want another one of your poorly invented excuses." The woman rubbed her tired eyes before settling them on him with a hardened gaze. Kakashi didn't have the nerve nor the undying death wish to continue what he was saying. Genma didn't follow him in. He fulfilled his duty of escorting the silver-haired man. It was probably wise of him not to come in, anyway. His captain pillaged through the large pile of papers on her desk before pulling out a folder and holding it out towards him. "We'll be heading to sea in three days."

Kakashi toyed with the clasp. He wanted to open it then, knowing that all the details were inside.

"Dismissed."

He saluted her before stepping out of the room and pulling the door closed behind him. He thought the meeting would last longer, but he figured Captain Tsunade was already too tired from waiting for him that she let him go with just the sealed documents. She wasn't going to lecture the younger man about his tardiness. Not for the third time that week.

Kakashi slipped the folder into his coat and looked around for Genma, but deciding to leave when he found no trace of his friend.

The streets were busy at ten in the morning. Crowds of citizens and Navy officers filled the streets of Konoha. The marketplace was loud with chatter and merchants yelling of bargains and deals. Men in white uniform such as himself tended to walk in groups. Though half of them wore their uniforms because of the sense of pride that filled them when the thick fabric embraced their skins, the worser half did it to attract attention of fawning women. Apparently, men in uniforms were all the rage these days. Kakashi took in the sight of his hometown, drinking in the various expressions of civilians and all the greens and browns of the scenery.

In three days, he'd be gone.

He stopped under the shade of a tree, giving a smile to two women sneaking glances at him. Kakashi watched as their faces turned a light shade of red before they scurried off giggling. He rubbed his chin. He should really invest in a mask one of these days.

He turned his head to a group of children playing by one of the nearby fruit stands. A blond kid with whiskers looked from left to right, then left again before tiptoeing and discreetly (or _trying_ to be) plucking an apple from the stand. Kakashi shook his head before walking over to the child in hopes of stopping him before the vendor found out.

"Stealing's a dangerous hobby, kid." Kakashi grabbed the boy's wrist gently. He kept his voice low, so that no one around them would hear. The young boy glanced up at him, blue eyes widened with bewilderment.

"I wasn't trying to steal anything!" He yelled in a not-so-quiet voice. Kakashi felt himself wanting to sigh. So much for being discreet.

"Oh? So then what were you doing, reaching for an apple without paying?" He crouched down before the boy, whose lips were now curled downwards in the same direction as his stare.

"I was just..." and he glanced to a spot behind Kakashi quickly before taking his eyes back to the spot on the ground.

Kakashi tried to turn around. "What are you—"

"Shut up, _old man_!" He yelled before turning around and running off.

 _O-old?_

Kakashi could only stare at the boy's small receding back before standing up again, pretending not to be wounded by the child's comment. Curiously, he turned around. What was the kid looking at? His eyes roamed; from the flower bed on the ground to the elderly group of men playing shogi in the park, he had no idea what the boy was looking at. Kakashi shrugged, about to walk away before something flashed by the corner of his eye.

 _Pink._

So vividly pink. He watched as a young girl climbed onto the swing, laughing as she swung her feet wildly. After a moment where her momentum was still unmoving, she frowned and huffed. Kakashi chuckled, finding quite a bit of amusement in the girl's distress. Somehow hearing him chuckle, she glanced up and shyly looked away. He walked over to where she sat, the tips of her ears tinged red with embarrassment.

"Do you need help?" He asked her, bending down next to her on the swing.

"U-um, please..." Her voice was so quiet, he almost didn't hear her.

"Hold on tight," he instructed, and she gripped the ropes tighter.

Kakashi was careful not to push her too hard. She was tiny and probably really light. The wrong amount of force could send her flying into one of the fruit stands. A joyful laugh caught his ears and he watched as her grin widened the higher she flew. He knew, then, that this girl was probably what caught the whiskered boy's attention. _Young love_ , he mused to himself.

"Higher!" The child told him.

"Higher?" Kakashi wasn't sure if he wanted to push her any harder than that.

"Yeah!" But he did. He complied and with one not-so-gentle push, she went flying.

"Uh oh."

He panicked as the girl lost her grip on the ropes and went barreling forward. Kakashi ran with his arms outspread, aiming to catch the girl because — _Kami what was wrong with him?_ — there was no way he could've let her fall. For what felt like minutes, she finally landed into his arms with a squeal. He lost the feeling in his legs. Kakashi slumped to the ground, ignoring the disapproving glares and shakes of their heads from the people who witnessed the entire scene. He willed his heart to steady, telling himself that that was one of the most dangerous things he had ever done. And he was in the _Navy_ , dammit. He glanced down to the object behind his increased blood pressure.

"Hey... are you okay?" He asked, worried that she wasn't responding. The little girl was staring at his chest. She was breathing, thankfully. She only looked up at him when he shook her shoulder. Kakashi flicked aside her overgrown bangs and was pleased to find two gems staring wide-eyed at him. They were an amazing shade of green. She stared at him for a bit longer before a smile played at the corners of her lips. That smile turned into a full-blown grin that left him confused and questioning whether or not the incident messed with her head.

"That was so fun!" She exclaimed. He exhaled in what sounded like a laugh and a sigh at the same. God, she was an interesting kid. Then as though all the adrenaline left her, she turned bashful. "Th-thank you, mister."

He nodded at her. She stared at his face a few more times before reaching her hand out and with a teeny tiny finger, touched the part on his where he knew his beauty mark — _not_ mole — would be.

"It's not polite to touch other people's faces," he scolded her in a light manner. Truthfully, he didn't care. He just couldn't help teasing her when he saw that her face turned such a funny shade of red.

"I'm sorry!" She struggled against him, and he let her go free. The girl dusted off her yellow sundress and walked away. She stopped in her tracks and turned around to give him a shy wave. "Bye!"

For the second time that day, Kakashi watched the small back of a kid recede.

Why were kids so troublesome?

* * *

"What are you looking for?"

Kakashi ignored Genma. He scanned the crowd for a familiar head of pastel hair. Sensing that the silver-haired man wouldn't respond, Genma walked ahead onto the boarding ship. Families were standing by the deck, waving goodbye to their relatives with either teary eyes or proud grins. There were others who presented themselves out of mere curiosity, fascinated by the sight of officers and sailors in white uniforms heading off to fight for their country. With one last scan, Kakashi finally gave up and boarded the ship.

With one last glance over his shoulder, he spotted a starry-eyed child. The grin on his whiskered face never once wavered as he watched all of the boarding officers ad sailors. There was another child standing a few feet away from the blond boy. He looked at them meekly, clutching his mother's hand. Kakashi vaguely registered her face. Where had he seen her before? When he looked at her husband's stoic expression, the recognition clicked. They were Uchiha Itachi's family. He had the honor to work with the younger man before, and their interactions were always pleasant albeit short. Itachi was a talented strategist for the Navy, and someone whom Kakashi regarded with respect. He watched as the small raven-haired boy waved animatedly to his older brother standing above the deck.

Kakashi chuckled to himself. He wondered how they would all grow up.


	2. Chapter 01

A/N: Somewhere along the way, I lost the inspiration -mechanical whirring noises inside head-

* * *

 _Taishō Roman Konoha_

 **One.**

* * *

The sound of rain was continuously hitting the rooftop of the small bookshop. Green eyes gazed upwards at the darkening sky. There weren't any signs that the rain would let up any time soon, but Sakura really needed to meet up with Ino, the heiress of the Yamanaka clan. It was her unofficial duty to escort the young woman home every day. Sakura knew that if she skipped out on taking her home, Ino would never let her off the hook.

Sighing, she turned to the old bookkeeper and bid him farewell before holding up the sleeve of her kimono and rushing out into the rain. Sakura felt the soles of her heeled, brown boots hit the pavement with small splashes. It was hard to see anything clearly while she was pelted by raindrops. Thankfully, she knew the route to the Yamanaka Flower Shop by heart. Turning a familiar corner, Sakura ducked under a blue awning to escape the downpour. She bent over, hands on her knees, and caught her breath. She shook off any excess water and smoothed out her long pink hair. Sakura didn't like the idea of looking less than presentable in front of the blonde heiress. Ino always looked neat and prim; she was the epitome of what a lady should be.

And Sakura was anything but.

"Took you long enough," a slightly annoyed voice called out to her. Sakura turned to meet Ino's turquoise eyes. The corners of her mouth were turned downwards. "I thought you wouldn't be coming today."

"And suffer the consequences? No thanks," Sakura replied sarcastically as she grazed her hand over her messenger bag. She hoped its contents weren't soaked. She couldn't afford buying another copy of every single textbook she owned.

Ino disappeared inside the shop. Sakura took the opportunity to squeeze some water out of her pastel-pink locks. She frowned to herself. She was going to have to wash her hair again when she got home. Ino reappeared, a long purple haori draped over her shoulders and an umbrella in her hand. Sakura gently grabbed the umbrella and inspected it. She frowned.

"Is this one of the newer styles?" Instead of paper, the canopy was made completely of plastic. Sakura eyed the foreign material with contemplation. She had only seen the styles a few times since they were first introduced to Konoha. Ino clutched her haori closer to her body, already feeling the coolness of the rain.

"Father managed to bring home one or two. Isn't it pretty?" she gushed. Sakura gave a nonchalant shrug as she opened the umbrella, watching as raindrops bounced off the sturdy material. Despite how effective it was, Sakura generally preferred her wakasa to this new style. That was probably one of their endless differences; Ino was able to adapt to the changes that were happening in the recent years. Women were quickly becoming modernized and while Sakura was still young, she felt out of place with her traditional kimonos and old school bags. Sakura didn't own a single handbag; Ino owned four. She didn't own a pair of heels; Ino had an entire shoe wardrobe. Sakura stylized her hair in a traditional low ponytail; Ino was ceaselessly creative and started to curl her long blonde hair in different ways.

The blonde heiress looped her arm through Sakura's. She stiffened when she felt Ino's breasts pressed against her elbow. "Keep it straight, so that you won't get wet either," she informed. Sakura could faintly smell the scent of roses as Ino held herself closer. "This works, right?"

Sakura didn't know what to say to those sly blue eyes staring up at her from underneath long lashes, so she kept walking forward, making sure that none of the rain pelted the blonde's pretty little head. They walked with little conversation. Sakura would listen to her companion mention tedious details of her day, mentioning something about uniformed men and her pregnant next-door-neighbor. Nothing really connected, but she didn't mind.

The Yamanaka estate was situated at the heart of the town. It was the third largest compound, behind the Hyūga's and Nara's. Sakura would never get used to seeing such a huge mansion. She lived with her parents in a two bedroom apartment. She had seen buildings undergo renovations and modernization, but her apartment building was not part of that side of Konoha. Not a lot of people lived in her area, but the buildings weren't in extremely horrid conditions. It was the perfect neighborhood in her own opinion. Ino's mansion was currently undergoing its own renovations. As they rounded closer, Sakura noted that the sounds of drills and machines were nonexistent. They probably halted construction because of the rain.

"We're here..." Sakura breathed out. They stopped in front of the giant wooden doors. "Here," she said as she passed the umbrella onto its rightful owner. Instead of taking it, Ino pushed it gently back to Sakura's side and shook her head. She was about to protest but the blonde cut her off.

"You need it more than I do," she told her with a soft smile. Sakura gave her a grateful smile. When the young heiress moved to tuck a wet, pink strand behind her ear, Sakura stiffened. She watched the expression on Ino's face soften and the tints of her cheeks darken. Sakura suppressed the urge to back away just as she suppressed the urge to lean forward.

"Have you considered my offer?" the blonde whispered, voice barely drowned out by the sound of the falling rain. Ino stared at her, refusing to look away. Something in Sakura told her not to be the first one to divert her gaze, that she wouldn't be the one losing this battle.

"Ino, I —" Two manicured fingers silenced the green-eyed woman. She could feel the soft padding of Ino's middle and forefinger on her lips.

"I don't wanna hear your answer just yet, Forehead." Sakura scoffed indignantly at the girl's use of her embarrassing nickname. "Just — think about it some more, okay?" And as quickly as those turquoise eyes hardened, they softened when Sakura nodded. With one last parting look, Ino pushed through the wooden doors and disappeared onto the other side.

Sakura waited until the doors slammed shut by themselves to turn and leave. She gripped the umbrella tightly when she felt the rain coming down harder. There were a few people struggling to close up their shops and stands. Sakura weaved her way effortlessly through the hectic crowd. Compared to the large amount of people that morning, there were only a few people out then. She grimaced as she ducked under a tree. Her chest heaved up and down, her lungs burned from running. She was going to have to wait it out. Her home was a few more blocks down the road, but there was no way she could get back without being soaked. The two people that had taken shelter under the same tree had decided to run for it. Sakura watched their gleeful expressions as they ventured into the streets. She wished she were that carefree. She just couldn't afford to miss any days of class.

With a sigh, Sakura removed her white, silk gloves and placed them carefully into her bag. She had forgotten to take them off earlier at the bookstore. She would have to leave them to dry tonight, hopefully they would be dry enough to be worn in the morning before she head to school. Her eyes drifted down to her boots, caked in gunk and mud from her travel. She wished she had a dozen of other pairs of shoes she could wear, instead of having to spend all night scrubbing them. Pointless thoughts ran through her mind as she inspected each and every article of clothing. She worried more than necessary.

Sakura was jittered out of her thoughts by a soft pattering of footsteps coming to a stop next to her. She kept her gaze down, but she could see that whoever it was, was wearing loafers. She didn't have enough time to fantasize about the person who owns them when she heard a low sigh.

"Wonderful weather we're having."

She snorted, and then quickly clamped a hand over her mouth.

"Guess not?" A low chuckle sent vibrations down her spine. Slowly, she looked up.

— and was met with one charcoal eye. Sakura immediately felt her heart speed up. Who the hell was this guy? Why the _hell_ was he wearing a damn mask and eyepatch? He looked, if she were frank, quite terrifying. She couldn't help her eyes from roaming over his figure; from his unruly grey hair— _was he old?_ —to his white uniform. His slouched posture was probably because of age and a bad back. An insignia on his collar caught her attention: a gold-encrusted six-point star.

This old man was a commanding lieutenant of the navy.

She drifted her eyes back up to his face. He was watching her. She felt her face flush hotly from embarrassment and straightened herself out. Sakura shifted her feet, silently cursing the rain for putting her in such a predicament with such a strange man. She glanced at him again from the corner of her eye. He wasn't paying mind to her, instead choosing to look out into the bleary streets. Similar to her, he was drenched from head to toe. Sakura could see that he wasn't carrying an umbrella.

She looked up. Surely enough, the skies were still the same. It had to have been the rainiest day on Konoha. The pink-haired girl sighed, earning a raised brow from the grey-haired man. His face still wasn't turned towards her, but she could tell that he had heard her.

"Um," she started as she handed him the umbrella Ino had let her borrow.

He simply looked at the clear canopy and then at her. She felt sheepish and small under his gaze. Her posture started to slouch, but she straightened herself up almost immediately. Timidly but swiftly, she left the umbrella by the trunk of the tree and ran out into the middle of the clearing. Sakura turned once, smirking to herself when she saw him in the middle of picking up the umbrella.

"You better use that! I'm sacrificing my health for you, _ojii-san_!"

Before Sakura ran away, she swore she saw his eye widening in surprise.

* * *

"Achoo!"

Stupid. She sniffled. That was what she was. _Stupid_.

Sakura wiped her red nose with a handkerchief as she tried to memorize the information in front of her. She just had to be a dumbass and run through the rain. She just _had_ to try to be the hero and give away her—not even hers!—umbrella to some stranger.

Now she was stuck with a blasted cold.

"Sakura-chaaaaaan!"

The pinkette groaned as Naruto shifted all of his weight onto her back. She resisted the urge to pummel him into the ground, settling for a hard shove to get him off of her.

"Naruto!" she growled.

The blond young man fell onto the cafe floor. "That hurt, Sakura-chan!" The frown on his face almost made her feel guilty.

Almost.

"You're too loud in the morning," she said with an exasperated sigh. Sakura sniffed again. Naruto eyed the used tissues sitting next to her textbook before pulling up a chair from the table next to them. He rummaged through his pocket to pull out a wad of...tissues?

 _Naruto..._

"Here ya go," he handed it to her with a beaming smile. She gratefully took out a single tissue and began to blow her nose. He took a moment to study her. "You shouldn't use your handkerchief to blow your nose."

Sakura frowned. She never liked it when she was on the receiving end of being scolded. At least, not when Naruto was the one doing the scolding.

"What else would I use it for, Naruto?"

"I dunno. Don't people use it as decoration or something?" He rubbed his head.

"Stupid, that's a pocket square. A handkerchief is different." She folded the cloth and tucked it into her bag. She smiled at the white fabric with red trimmed edges.

"It's not like I ever learned the difference," he mumbled under his breath. Sakura gave a sad smile as Naruto looked dejectedly at the palms of his hands. Of course he wouldn't know. She reached out to pat his cheek. He leaned into her hand, not caring that it was probably riddled with pathogens.

"Y'know...your hanky looks really familiar," Naruto hummed in thought. Sakura felt the blush creeping onto her cheeks. "Come to think of it, doesn't Sasuke have —"

"ACHOO!"

"Ew, Sakura-chan! You're so gross! Why would you sneeze in my direction?!"

Sakura snorted. "When have you ever been afraid of germs, Naruto? You practically ate from the same bowl as Kiba's dog the other day." She felt queasy just thinking about it.

The blond folded his arms defensively, sporting a pout on his lips. "That was my bowl! I wasn't gonna let him eat all of my ramen."

"You still shouldn't have eaten from the same bowl, Naruto." It was her turn to scold him, which was the norm for the duo anyway.

"Hasn't anyone told you that a dog's tongue is cleaner than a human's?" A statement to which a blow to the shoulder was received.

"You're too loud in the morning, dobe."

The duo turned to see Sasuke standing by the door to the cafe. Sakura resisted the urge to roll her eyes when she saw a few girls not-so-subtly checking him out. Uchiha Sasuke was an attractive young man. This, almost everyone knew. She was disappointed that she herself used to be one of his fan girls. _Used to_.

Naruto said something to him but she suddenly couldn't focus on the words being exchanged between the two best friends. Her vision faltered a little. She tried her best to blink the dark spots away, making sure to keep her head turned so the other two wouldn't notice. When she turned her attention back, her breath hitched when she saw two onyx eyes trained on her.

"Sakura, let's go." He tilted his head, motioning for them to leave. It was a routine they've developed lately. She would meet up with Naruto before school began and wait for Sasuke to come. She and Sasuke would then head to class while Naruto went to work.

Sakura gathered up her belongings. They gave Naruto one last look before leaving. It was a feeling she felt many times before, but she couldn't help it when a pang of sadness appeared in her chest from the doleful smile on Naruto's face. It hurt to leave him. It hurt him to see them leave.

"Are you okay?"

Sasuke's voice jittered her out of her depressing thoughts. She fiddled with the tips of her gloves.

"Yes, I'm fine. Just a little tired." It wasn't a lie. She felt too tired and wondered if she would pass her history exam this morning.

Sasuke gave her a stoic look before turning back to the path ahead of them. "Hn."

She sighed. Great, now she must've looked even more weird. Sakura doubted he would ever think of her in a positive light. She gave an internal shrug. At least she didn't fawn over him like she did before.

"You'll pass," he said under his breath.

She blinked up at him. "Huh?"

He turned his head to the side. Sakura could see the top of his ears had turned red. "I said you'll pass the test."

Her mouth formed an 'o' as she registered his words. Ducking her head to the ground shyly, she let out a small smile and tucked her hair behind her ear. It was rare that he gave out compliments, and even rarer when it was for her. So when she did receive one, her heart soared.

Sasuke never spoke much and Sakura didn't want to make him uncomfortable with her chatter. Sure, sometimes she forgot how taciturn the young man was and might or might not blabber more than necessary. But she always remembered and apologized afterwards. Sasuke never minded (at least not outwardly) and instead let her chatter on about insignificant little things. She figured he was used to Naruto by now and wasn't really bothered by her mindless prattle.

The two of them reached their classroom with some time to spare. Sasuke reminded her of their promise to see Naruto later that evening before stalking off to his seat in the back. The rosette didn't say anything as she headed for her own desk in the front. She figured a little more cramming wouldn't hurt.

By the time lunchtime rolled around, Ino had found her sitting in the courtyard of the school.

"Forehead," the blonde greeted with a smile. "How was your test?"

"It was okay," she responded, not looking up from her bento box. Sakura silently thanked her mom for putting in a little extra food today. She was hungrier than usual and wasn't sure if it was because she was sick or not.

Ino plopped down next to where she was sitting on the stone edging of a bed of sunflowers. She unwrapped her own bento box and began switching some of her vegetables with Sakura's.

"Wait, I'm sick." The warning seemed to work because Ino started putting back whatever she had grabbed from the pinkette's lunch.

"How'd you get sick?" Her pale-turquoise eyes bored into the side of Sakura's face.

"I decided to run for it." Her eyes didn't meet Ino's. _Please, don't ask about the umbrella. Please don't_ —

"Did you lose my umbrella or something?" She asked while plopping a piece of dried squid into her mouth.

"What makes you say that?" Sakura watched her pursed lips move as she chewed. She didn't wear lipgloss today.

Ino gave her an unimpressed look. "You got sick. Knowing you, you would've wanted to return it as soon as you saw me. But here you are, stuffing your face with no umbrella in sight."

"Are you mad?" Sakura's voice was barely above a whisper. Ino grated her nerves. The blonde seemed to have a penchant for being annoyingly frustrating. But if there was one thing Sakura hated, then it was Ino being mad at her. It never boded well with the pink-haired girl.

Sakura kept her eyes down to her lunch. Suddenly, she wasn't so hungry anymore. How was she supposed to get the umbrella back? She didn't even know who that man was or whether or not she'd ever see him again.

A comforting hand was placed onto her shoulder. She turned to see her best friend staring at her, a small smile laid upon her lips. "I'm not mad." She pulled away as Sakura sighed in relief. "God, Forehead. It was just an umbrella. Why would I be mad over that?"

She couldn't help but smile when the blonde huffed. Sakura reached out and rubbed her thumb across Ino's bottom lip. She wondered how the girl's lips felt so soft and contemplated asking her for her secret. She wiped away the grain of rice and pulled her hand back. When she turned to, turquoise eyes were looking at her in a daze, staring at the green-eyed girl with an incomprehensible expression.

"You," she gestured to her own mouth, "...had something here."

Sakura could've sworn she had never seen the blonde that red. The last time she had turned so crimson was when she bumped into Sasuke's back. That, however, was years ago when they were still children. Sakura decided that Ino looked just as pretty with the dark hues on her cheeks.

"Thanks," she mumbled.

It would be a while before either of them said another word. She didn't know what to make of the sudden change in atmosphere. It seemed to happen too often between them lately. Sakura listened to Ino chatting away. As much as she tried to focus, she couldn't. Her mind was racing and even though she wasn't thinking about anything in particular, it felt as though thoughts kept bombarding her brain and leaving as quickly as they came.

Lunch eventually ended with her bento left half-full.

* * *

"Sakura-chan!"

She snapped to attention. Her green eyes darted from the table to the whiskered blond next to her. She looked on as his eyebrows scrunched together in concern before he pressed his lips into a line.

"You weren't listening to me!"

"Uh? Sorry, Naruto." She shook her head. "What were you saying?"

"I was saying..."

Sakura watched his lips move. He was probably repeating himself, but she couldn't hear whatever he seemed to be telling her. She ignored the throbbing pain in the back of her head and the way she seemed to be burning up. She reached her for her glass of water. A flash of silver caught her eye before her vision blurred completely. She felt something wet on her lap and had half a mind of realization that she probably spilt her drink on herself.

"Sakura-chan!"

She just didn't seem to care enough to fight the drowsiness that suddenly overcame her or the darkness that had taken her vision.

* * *

A/N: I felt that it was necessary to show the seemingly useless thoughts that passed through Sakura's head. What I hoped was that it would shed some insight on what her personality is like (at least in this story). If the pace is slow, I do apologize. It's always slow when it starts out.


End file.
